Many – too many – people are convinced that playing ‘Dungeons & Dragons‘ is very complicated and requires spending a lot of money. When, in reality, all you need are the free rules from the internet, a set of dice, pencil, paper, and imagination. Is it a Trojan horse, and will you end up spending your entire paycheck on a beautiful handmade 20-sided die you saw on Etsy? Absolutely. But it can also shape the rest of your life.
A (not so) infernal world
And the proof is James Ohlen, the writer and designer of the first ‘Baldur’s Gate,’ who introduced BioWare to the world. And do you know what interested them the most from his entire resume? His skills in playing D&D. Exactly: before joining the company, he spent more than 20,000 hours playing (which can be two long sessions, we won’t deceive you). Or, more precisely, mastering.
The idea is that if you’ve dedicated 10,000 hours to something, you know how to do it better than someone with innate talent. “It’s ridiculous. I owe a lot to D&D. My friendships, my career, my mental stability,” he said. Ohlen eventually became the design director of BioWare and worked on ‘Neverwinter Nights,’ the sequel to ‘Baldur’s Gate,’ and even games unrelated to D&D like the iconic ‘Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic’ or ‘Dragon Age: Origins.’
In BioWare, they weren’t just looking for his ability to play, but also for the files in which he recorded everything about each character and the world, bringing them into the video games. It wasn’t Ohlen’s intention, but he ended up using the wizards and warriors he had guided (or played) over the years, some of whom have endured until the recently released ‘Baldur’s Gate 3.’
Being a role-playing game master isn’t easy, and you need players willing to follow your stories and not sabotage you (at least, not always). But when you succeed, it’s addictive. So much so that in the end, you can dedicate your career to it. James Ohlen has fulfilled any role player’s dream: in fact, he is now working with Wizards of the Coast, creating new intellectual properties and developing video games based on the saga. He rolled a natural 20 in charisma.
